Warrior for Harry
by Danigrebel
Summary: When Mrs. Figg claims that she can no longer take care of the fiveyearold Harry on a daytoday basis, Petunia Dursley is horrified. Luckily, though, there is a young girl living nearby that would be happy to babysit during the summer.


A/N: Okay, this is AU, obviously. I made Katie in Oliver's year, just because it worked better with that age difference. And no, it is not Katie/Harry. I'd like to take a moment to introduce my muses.

I'm Greta! I'm the intelligent and kind coughGryffindorcough one!

I'm Bellatrix, or Bella. I'm Slytherin. And Greta, if you say one word...

* * *

Chapter One

"What? What do you mean, you can't watch him anymore?" Petunia Dursley shrieked angrily, causing Arabella Figg to sigh.

"Mrs. Dursley, I am getting old. I simply do not have the energy to watch a child. However, there is a girl that lives down the street that is perfectly capable of watching a five-year-old boy."

"How old is she?" Petunia asked doubtfully.

"Ten last month." Arabella informed her. "Her name is Katie Bell, she's an incredibly polite child, and she has done quite a bit of babysitting recently. She'll be available all year, and next year she'll be available around Christmas, Easter, and the summer. I can take care of him while she's gone."

"Well, I suppose. Where can I find her?" Petunia sighed.

"Number 7." Arabella replied. "I'll call her and tell her to expect you."

* * *

"Katie! Katie!" Harry Potter called one afternoon four years later. It was the end of June, and Katie Bell had only recently returned from school. The blue-eyed girl grabbed Harry and hugged him tightly.

"I can't believe you're turning ten in two months!" She exclaimed. "My little Harry's all grown up!"

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly, and Katie held out her hand.

"C'mon, Harry." She said, her honey-blonde hair already escaping its braid. "Let's go to the park."

Ever since Arabella Figg had suggested Katie as a babysitter, Katie would watch him on the weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. during the summer. Mrs. Figg occasionally watched Harry during the school year, but mostly it was Katie that Harry grew up with. Katie made sure that Harry had fun, and that he knew someone cared about him.

* * *

A year later, Katie Bell received a call from Mrs. Figg.

"Katie, dear." Mrs. Figg said. "You do know what will be going out soon, don't you?"

"The Hogwarts letters, of course." Katie responded. "And you were right, by the way. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley are the worst people to take care of Harry. I suppose I'll be playing messenger?"

"No, dear, Professor McGonagall will be coming to your house personally on the fifteenth. Just be sure that Harry is there."

"Of course," Katie agreed.

* * *

On the fifteenth, Katie had tea and biscuits ready when Harry arrived.

"Hey, Harry." She greeted him when he rang the doorbell. "We won't be going out today. There's someone coming to see you."

"Me?" Harry asked. Katie sighed and sat him down on the sofa and got on her knees in front of him.

"Harry, you've been accepted at my school. I've always told you that you were special, and now I can prove it. Professor McGonagall will be here shortly."

"But what about the Dursleys?" Harry asked.

Katie sighed. "Harry, my school is a school for incredibly gifted children. Your name has been down since you were born, and the Dursleys know that. However, you were never supposed to meet them. They're your only living relatives, true, but there was a long line of people to take care of you if anything happened to your parents. Over the years, you've become a little brother to me, and nothing hurts me more than sending you off to those people at the end of the day. But that's going to change now. Because Professor McGonagall will tell you something today that the Dursleys have been keeping from you for far too long."

"Well said, Miss Bell." A stern voice came from behind Katie. "How did you know that Mr. Potter wasn't supposed to meet the Dursleys?"

"Because I was six and a half when his parents died, and mine died shortly thereafter. It's not something you forget very quickly. My parents were right after the Longbottoms, remember? They spent most of those weeks wondering why he hadn't come to us."

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"Miss Bell was right when she said you're special, Mr. Potter. You're a wizard."

* * *

Two weeks later, Katie and Harry got out of Mrs. Niuti's car. Mrs. Niuti was Katie's foster mother--a Muggle. Katie had explained to Harry that she was adopted by Muggles, and was in fact a pureblood--not that it mattered.

"Welcome, Harry, to the Leaky Cauldron. It doesn't look like much, but it's one of the most important locations in all of England."

"Morning, Katie." The bartender called. "What can I do for you today?"

"I need two rooms until September 1st, if you don't mind, Tom." Katie asked, keeping an arm around Harry's shoulder.

"You and the lad don't have any luggage?" Tom asked.

"Not much." Katie laughed. "It's a perfect opportunity to spend large amounts of money foolishly."

Harry blinked up at her, and she sighed. "It means I'm taking you on a shopping spree, dear. And treating myself to an entire new wardrobe in the process."

"Anyways, Tom, we'll be going into Muggle London when we're done in Diagon Alley, so if you could have the rooms ready by one o'clock, I'd appreciate it."

"Not a problem, Katie." Tom called after her.

* * *

"Okay, Harry." Katie said once they had both gotten money from their vaults. "You see that shop over there, Madam Malkin's? You go on and get fitted, buy some robes. I'll be buying a trunk for you."

"But what about your robes?" He asked.

"Oh, I don't need any more. My old ones are just fine."

* * *

Not even an hour later, Katie and Harry stepped into Flourish & Blotts, the second to last stop of their day. Harry, being the bookworm that he was, practically drooled at the sight of all those books.

"Go ahead and pick out some extra books, Harry. I'll go get your required books, and mine. But we only have an hour, okay? We still need to get your wand, and then we'll get you some proper clothes."

Harry nodded his thanks and maneuvered his way through the shelves, while Katie gathered the books she needed and headed up to the counter.

"I'd like to buy these and a set of first year books." She said, dropping her books on the counter. When all her books were paid for, she set out to find Harry.

"Okay, Harry." She said. "You go buy your extra books while I drop these things off at the Cauldron, then we'll get you your wand."

* * *

Tom directed Katie to Rooms 11 and 12, which were right across the hall from each other. She dropped her own trunk in Room 11 and de-shrunk it. It was a Paranoid Persons Trunk, a trunk that contained six compartments. It shrunk on command, and rather than having a lock and keys, it was attuned to your magical signature and handprint. You had to put your hand on a small circle on the top of the trunk and say which compartment you wanted.

In the first compartment was a bedroom, with a four-poster canopy bed with black and purple linens. The wood was mahogany, and in addition to two night tables, it contained three separate wardrobes. There was one for muggle clothes, one for robes, and one for shoes.

The second compartment was a bathroom, complete with a swimming pool sized bath, along with various taps for bubbles and scents.

Third came the dueling chamber. On one side of the room it was completely empty. On the other side it had a dueling platform, padded mats, an array of weapons, and many books on dueling.

The fourth compartment was a library. It had a fireplace, numerous soft armchairs, a few desks, and three of the walls were made up of floor-to-ceiling bookcases, although Katie didn't even have one wall full. Katie's library was well organized: for the course books, she organized them by year she had needed them. The rest were in subject groups, shelved alphabetically by author. She took a moment to add her new books to the course bookshelf, and then climbed out of the trunk.

The fifth compartment was a large storage closet for precious items. Basically, it was a large stone room with shelves lining one wall and a china cabinet on another.

The last compartment was a potions lab. It was completely empty save for an area with shelves, which she would place her potions supplies on later.

It was a trunk she had had for three years, and she had bought Harry one just like it, except his linens were white, so he could change them to suite his tastes. She put all his things on top of the trunk in Room 12, and then headed back to Flourish and Blotts.

* * *

"You're no fun," Harry pouted three hours later when Katie refused to let him get his tongue pierced.

"Harry, darling, I shudder to imagine what Professor McGonagall would do to me if you showed up with a piece of metal through your tongue." Katie replied, rolling her eyes at the boy. "Besides, you're only 11. What happened to the awkward stage you're supposed to go through?"

"It happened while you were trying on clothes earlier." Harry said, ducking out of the way before Katie could hit him.

"You're lucky I like you," Katie sighed, grabbing his arm and dragging him into "Needles Galore," a popular tattoo/piercing parlour.

"You're letting me get my tongue pierced?" Harry asked excitedly.

"No. I'm getting you an early birthday present." Katie informed him. "You can get an ear pierced, and depending on how you take that, I might let you get a small tattoo."

Harry beamed up at the girl who had practically raised him, knowing she understood his need to rebel. While they had been shopping for Muggle clothes, Katie had explained his fame to him, including how he would be expected to act. She also had encouraged him to ignore these expectations. If he fit into their image of a Golden Boy, she explained, they would never hesitate to think badly of him. If he was himself, and acted like a real person, they would realise that he was just that: a person.

* * *

When they collapsed in their beds at the Leaky Cauldron that evening, only Katie was sporting a new look. Katie had gotten her navel pierced and a large rose tattooed between her shoulder blades. Harry had decided to forego the piercing, not trusting that the needles that Needles Galore were sanitary enough. Harry had, however, gotten normal clothes: jeans, t-shirts, trousers, polo shirts, new tennis shoes, and dress shoes. All in all, it had been a very nice day.

The rest of the summer continued in much the same way. Katie had gotten Harry a snowy owl for his birthday, and also given him a small party. Small meaning they were the only ones there. It was a nice party anyway, and Katie promised that the following summer, he would have a real party with all the friends he was sure to make at Hogwarts.

* * *

One morning, though, Katie woke Harry at seven o'clock.

"Come on, Harry." she whispered. "You need to get up and get ready. We have to go to King's Cross Station soon."

It was September first.

((A/N: Originally, I ended here. But then I checked the word count. It wasn't even 2000. So, I decided to continue. Aren't you lucky? I'm sure they're overjoyed Shut up, Bella.))

They arrived at King's Cross at quarter after ten. Katie led Harry to the wall between platforms nine and ten and directed him to walk through it.

"You want me to walk into a wall?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's how you get to Platform 9¾." Katie informed him, stepping through to prove it. A gaping Harry leaned against the wall for support... forgetting that she had just proved it wasn't solid.

Katie looked down at Harry, who had literally fallen through the barrier, and pulled him up.

"It's called magic, dear. Anything could happen."

Harry was about to ask her something, but was interrupted when someone screeched, "KATIE!"

Katie turned around and was promptly tackled by two dark-skinned girls. Harry looked at them oddly, while two boys sauntered up. One of them was holding a large box that had a long, hairy leg beginning to stick out.

"I've missed you, too, girls, but I need to breathe." Katie gasped. The girls blushed and got off her, allowing her to straighten her clothes and throw an arm over Harry's shoulders.

"Harry, these are my friends. The one with the braids is Angelina Johnson, the other girl is Alicia Spinnet. The boy with the dreadlocks is Lee Jordan, and the tall one is Oliver Wood. Angelina, Alicia, Oliver, and I are on the Quidditch team. Angie, Leesh, Ollie, Lee, this is my surrogate little brother, Harry Potter."

* * *

A/N: There, that seemed a better place to stop. Only 2150 words, but better than 1850. So, review please!

Please, do, or she'll pout and then torture us.


End file.
